July 2026 - WInes of Bordeaux by Marjorie Legendre.

 

This Month was presented by Marjorie Legendre, Head of Wine at Leith’s Cookery school and a Wine educator. All wines from Bordeaux.

Bordeaux has had a rough time in the last decades, wine production is only about a half of what it was in the 20^th century due to changing habits, competition and other reasons. About 80% of the wine is Red, 15% White and the rest Cremant.

6 of the 8 wines are from The Wine Society, 1 and 7, from Waitrose. Some of the prices are approximate, and range from £10 to £28 (yikes!).

Sparkling

Cremant de Bordeaux, Ballarin, NV Cabernet Franc, Semillon, Muscadelle 12%. £13

White

Dourthe N1 Bordeaux Blanc, 2025 Sauvignon Blanc 12% £9.95

A de Chateau d'Arche, 2022 Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc 12.5%. £13

Red

Château de la Grave ‘Caractère', Côtes de Bourg 2022 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.0%. £11.95

Château Caronne Sainte Gemme, Haut-Médoc 2020 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. 12.5%. £18

Château Couhins Rouge, Pessac-Léognan 2016. 44% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot. 14.5% £26

Chateau Cantin St-Emilion Grand Cru 2022 Merlot + Some Cabernet Franc. 15.5% £28

Dessert

Ulysse Cazabonne Sauternes. Semillon, + Some Sauvignon Blanc. 14.5% £11.50

 

The Cremant was as most French Cremants are, an excellent fizz, and an excellent alternative to Champage at a much lower cost.

June 2026 - Giusy Andreacchio - Wines of the TriVeneto

 

This Month we had a presentation by Giusy Andreacchio – WSET Diploma and Certified Educator - ‘A Portrait of Triveneto: Understanding the Wines of Friuli, Veneto & Trentino-Alto Adige’

This is the NE part of Italy, Bolzano, Trieste, Verona, Venice are all in there.

There are some well know wines familiar to us all – Prosecco, Soave and Valpolicella/Amarone in there as well as many we’ve not seen before – Italy is such a rich tapestry of Wines that there is always something new, and this is just one corner!

Giusy is clearly very enthusiastic about her wines and did perhaps overload us with information. Nevertheless some excellent wines and and informative evening.

Most of these Wines are not on the High Street, but Available from Woodwinters or Hallgarten WInes (No. 6)

Sparkling –

1.            1     Case Paolin Pietra Fine Extra Brut Asolo DOCG Prosecco Superiore NV. Glera. 12%, £18

White

2.       Tenuta Santa Maria Soave Lepiga DOC 2024. Garganega Veronese. 12.5% £16

3.       Zuani Vigne Collio Bianco DOC 2024. Friulano, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio. 13% £25

4.       Nals Margreid Pinot Grigio Cru Punggl DOC 2022. Pinot Grigio. 13% £20

Red

5.       Tenuta Santa Maria Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC 2023. Corvina75% Corvinone15% Rondinella 10%. 14.5% £21

6.       Castello di Buttrio Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso DOC Friuli Colli Orientali 2020 Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. 13% £22.50

7.        Nals Margreid Lagrein Sand DOC 2024. Lagrein. 13.5% £23

8.       Giacomo Montresor Amarone 'La Colombaia' DOCG 2022. Corvina, Rondinella Molinara 15% £30

May 2026. A Tour of the Rhone, Peter Freeman

 

This month we had Peter Freeman presenting A Tour of the Rhone. An eclectic selection with wine at both ends of the scale – bought from Tesco or Vinatis, an online very French Wine warehouse.

Peter has decades of experience and if quite old school, was very entertaining and knowledgeable.

One of the interesting/annoying thing about these wines is that Cotes de Rhone allows 18 different grapes – but you are unlikely to be able to work out which grapes are in the wine you are buying. Also,90%+ of Cotes de Rhone production is Red.

White

Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc, SR, 2024. 13.0%. £9.50. Tesco

               Quite a rounded white with some body to it. Probably Grenache blanc/Marsanne.

Luberon “L'Oustalet”, SR, 2024. 13.0%. £10.00. Tesco

               Vielle Vignes. Lighter and Fresher

St Peray “Nobles Rives”, NR, 2024. 13.0%. £18.49.. Vinatis

               A very powerful white, a Roussane/Marsanne blend.

Red

Côtes du Rhône Villages Rouge Signargues , SR, 2024. 14.0%. £9.50. Tesco

               Basic Cotes de Rhone. Decent enough

Lirac Lafont, SR, 2024. 14.5%. £14.00. Tesco

A blend of grapes – probably 5 or 6 in here, with a lot of Grenache. A solid wine which would benefit from 3 or 4 more years.

Cornas “Les Arènes”, NR, 2022. 13.0%. £36.26. Vinatis

A top of the range wine. Pure Syrah, and one of the smallest appellations out there, so suffers from supply/demand. A good alternative to a good Hermitage.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Ch de Vaudieu, SR, 2021. 15.0%. £38.66. Vinatis

Mostly grenache & syrah. Very powerful, full bodied, alcoholic. Very nice indeed.

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Vignon, SR, 2022. 15.0%. £16.74. Everywhere.

A sweetie.